Dobbs Residence, Surrey, England, 12/24/1975, 02:00
Bellatrix cackled insanely as she cast the killing curse on Martin Dobbs. This mudblood family was the sixth house the death eaters were attacking tonight.
Martin Dobbs lay dead on his sitting room floor. After holding him under the cruciatus curse for fifteen mutes, Bellatrix had become bored with him. There was also the fact that Dobbs' mind snapped and he had stopped screaming and thrashing around which was her favorite part about using the curse.
Bellatrix could hear a different kind of screaming coming from upstairs where Martin's wife was 'entertaining' the male members of her team.
Bellatrix was done playing and was starting to get bored. She began humming to herself as she looked around the sitting room at the pictures on the wall when a picture caught her eye. It was a picture of Martin and his wife with a baby in her arms.
Bellatrix decided to investigate and see if her hunch was correct. Quickly she made her way toward the stairs humming happily at the prospect of getting to kill another mudblood.
Bellatrix strolled up the stairs and down the hall walking past the room where her team was busy rutting the mudblood filth. She checked all of the other rooms on this floor until she came to a closed door at the end of the hall.
Opening the door, Bella found a nursery room with the small babe from the photo asleep in her tiny crib.
Bellatrix smiled evilly realizing that her hunch was correct, the Dobbs family did indeed have a child.
Pointing her wand at the crib, Bellatrix cast one of her favorite spells.
One green flash of light later, Bella exited the room feeling quite pleased with herself. Now, none of these filthy mudbloods would pollute their world any longer.
Bella walked back down the hall, pausing to call through the door where the rest of her team was playing with the widow Dobbs.
"It's time to go, we have other houses to visit tonight," Bellatrix said in a voice filled with impatience.
Bella heard one more feminine scream and then a gruff male voice muttered, "Avada Kedavra!"
Bellatrix headed down the stairs and waited by the door, tapping her foot impatiently while she waited on her team to join her.
The six members of her team came down within two minutes' time all of them looking disheveled with their robes rumpled around the waistline.
"There will be no more of that nonsense at the next target. We are here to cleanse this filth not lay with them. Now come, the Cresswell residence is our next Target," She ordered before exiting the home and raising her wand before pointing it over the Dobbs home.
"MORSMORDRE!" Bella screamed as a green burst of green light left the tip of her wand and flew toward the heavens.
Bella's eyes lit up in happiness as the ghostly image of her master's mark appeared over the home, looking like a neon billboard floating hundreds of feet in the sky.
Bellatrix and her team apparated away leaving the glowing skull hanging in the air over the Dobbs' family home.
/C.o.t.R\
D.M.L.E Directors Office, Ministry of Magic, London, 12/24/1975, 10:00
Alastor Moody had a busy night last night. He had responded to six different attacks personally, and read the reports for another four since arriving at the ministry an hour ago!
Moody was currently standing in the Head's office while Barty's sat behind his desk looking through the stack of incident reports that Alastor had just brought him.
"Well, Alastor how bad was it really?" Crouch asked in a resigned voice, pulling the aged auror back to the present.
"It was Bad Barty. Thirty-six dead, eleven sexual assaults, twenty-six were exposed to the cruciatus, and eight children were murdered, three of which were less than twelve months old! These people are savages, Barty," Moody reported trying to hold back his emotions as best he could.
Crouch paled the longer Moody spoke. When Alastor finally got to the end of his report, Barty nodded grimly before speaking in a voice of forced calm.
"I see. Did you know that six months ago I wanted to put every man we had on finding that Reaper fellow?" Crouch asked in a neutral tone as he stood from his seat and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey and two glasses from the cabinet behind his desk.
"No," Moody said, caught a little off guard by this change in topic.
"I did. The minister talked me into keeping our resources focused on protecting the populated areas but I wanted to go after that bastard with everything we had," Crouch admitted with a shake of his head as he poured firewhiskey into two tumblers and offered one to Alastor.
"I don't think the Reaper had anything to do with the attack last night," Moody said giving his boss a strange look as he took the glass.
"Oh, I am sure he didn't have anything to do with the attacks last night. It's not his style, is it?" Crouch asked with a humorless chuckle before taking a deep drink of whiskey.
"No, but after last night I would bet we'll see him soon," Moody said, feeling a bit unnerved by Barty's current mood.
"Good. After hearing your report, I am forced to agree with the D.o.M. We will Let him be, the Reaper is doing the Wizarding World a great service by disposing of monsters that would murder families in their beds," Barty stated, his mask of detached indifference falling away to be replaced by a look of cold fury.
"Yes sir, I agree," Moody answered, giving his boss an understanding nod before taking a drink from his glass.
"Good. Now get a quick response team together. Put ten of your best aurors and put Auror Captain Bones in charge of it," Crouch ordered, his voice coming out in the bark of a drill instructor.
"Yes sir, what are their orders?" Moody responded before setting his empty tumbler on the desk.
"Have the team on standby tonight, I want them ready to go at a moment's notice," Crouch answered as he retook his seat.
"I'll get it done," Moody assured him
"I fear this is only the beginning, Alastor," Crouch said before finishing the rest of his glass and setting it beside Alastor's.
"I know, I'll go find Bones," Moody said before turning to exit the office.
"Good. When you take care of that, get out of here and get some rest. I fear there will be more attacks tonight," Crouch called to retreating his back.
"I hope you're wrong, Barty," Alastor called over his shoulder before stepping out of the office and shutting the door behind him.
Old Crouch was a hard ass, but he was a good man and had been an exceptional Auror. Crouch still listened to his gut because Moody's gut was telling him the same thing, this was only the beginning.
/C.o.t.R\
Black Residence, Northumberland, England, 12/24/1975, 11:00
Harry had just read the special edition release of the Daily Prophet and he was very tempted to break his promise to Andromeda of no hunting during the holidays.
Thirty-six people were murdered in their homes last night. Men, women, and children were killed for no other reason than they had muggle parents!
Sighing to himself, Harry pushed those unsettling thoughts aside for the moment as he had matters closer at home to deal with this morning.
He had another problem that he had never expected, the wards on one of the teenager's rooms (Andromeda insisted he put up) went off last night after he and Andromeda went to sleep.
The wards were time activated which meant that they only went into effect after ten o'clock in the evening. The wards alerted him if someone of the opposite sex entered either of the rooms Sirius and Lily occupied.
What this meant was that last night Lily had snuck into Sirius' room. Harry had no idea how he was going to handle this situation and really wished that he didn't have to but he knew that it couldn't be ignored.
Harry was just glad that he didn't have to worry about vanishing from existence if his parents didn't get together. His future didn't exist anymore and he was basically just an extra person in this timeline.
Harry had been reading theory on time travel since he arrived in nineteen-seventy and that was the common consensus.
He had proven that the theory was correct when he killed Damien Greengrass, thereby making Daphne Greengrass not exist to send him back in time. So he knew with a ninety-nine percent certainty that nothing that happened here would make him vanish from existence.
That still did not make the idea of Sirius and his mother doing god knows what any less horrifying to think about and Harry knew that the conversation he was about to have with his mother and godfather was going to be very uncomfortable for all involved.
Looking up from his paper and seeing that his mother was still seated across from him eating a bowl of porridge, Harry figured he might as well get it over with.
Doing his best to compose himself, Harry cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Lily, there are wards over your and Sirius' rooms. Last night the wards over Sirius' room went off telling me that a female had entered his room after ten o'clock. So what I want to know is why you were in Sirius' room last night?" Harry asked, getting straight to the point.
"I needed the potions' book I lent him yesterday. The stupid prat actually thought I was coming on to him or something," Lily said, snorting derisively at the absurdity of that statement.
Harry internally breathed a sigh at hearing this, feeling relieved beyond words that he didn't have to have the 'talk' with his teenage mother.
"So there isn't anything going on between you and Sirius?" Harry asked to clarify.
"Heavens no, Sirius is a pig. Though he did give me this noble spiel about how him and I could never be for I was already promised to James Potter," Lily answered before scowling at the thought.
"Sirius does have a flair for the dramatic," Harry agreed, feeling much more cheerful now.
"You can say that again," Andromeda said as she entered the kitchen.
"How did it go with the future Lord Black?" Harry asked giving her a warm smile.
"He's still a crybaby. Sirius has been slacking on his physical fitness. He could barely finish the workout," Andi answered as she took her usual seat.
"Well, I'll put him through the wringer on Boxing Day," Harry promised as he poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her.
"He also wanted me to ask you if James Potter can come over for Boxing Day," Andi told him before taking a sip of the tea and giving him a questioning look.
Harry caught Lily scowling out of the corner of his eye but he ignored it. He knew she didn't like James very much, but he hadn't interacted with the boy very much since he started working at Hogwarts. Harry had gotten to know Sirius and Lily but he still hadn't talked very much with James other than their short conversation in the infirmary.
Inviting him over didn't sound like a bad idea and could actually be fortuitous. If he was reading things in the paper correctly, the Potter family was likely to be attacked very soon. Perhaps he could come up with a way to keep them safe in the event they were attacked.
"I personally don't care, if you're okay with it," Harry answered her after thinking about it for a minute.
"Well I'll let him stew for a bit, but I suppose it's okay with me. Was there anything in the paper?" Andromeda asked before taking another sip of tea.
"A lot. Ten houses were attacked last night," Harry said with a hint of anger in his voice
"How bad was it?" Andi asked after coughing a bit on her tea.
"Thirty-six dead just as many injured," was his short reply.
The question in her eyes was easy to figure out, Andi wanted to know if he was going to get involved and start his hunt earlier than he had planned.
Harry shook his head. He would honor his promise and spend the holidays with his family and let the wizarding world handle itself for a little while.
The grateful smile she gave him did a lot to assuage the guilt he felt about his decision. In his heart, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening. At best, he could react to attacks as they happened but that would be akin to playing an exhausting game of whack-a-mole.
No, as much as it galled him he would let the ministry deal with the problem. He planned on returning the favor soon but for now, he would spend Christmas with his family.
/C.o.t.R\
Black Residence, Northumberland, England, 12/26/1975, 12:00
Harry was sitting in the living room in front of the fireplace waiting for his guest.
James was supposed to arrive any minute now and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit excited at the prospect of having his father over.
Hopefully, today wouldn't be as hectic as yesterday was because Christmas day had been one-word, chaos.
Sirius had woken at dawn and was soon joined by Nymmie who was always an early riser. The two quickly formed an alliance to wake everyone else up before the sun rose.
In other words, Sirius tricked his little cousin into running into her parent's room and jumping up and down on Harry and Andromeda's bed chanting.
"WAKE UP MUMMY IT'S CHRISTMAS, DADDY GET UP IT'S CHRISTMAS!" at the top of her voice.
When everyone was sitting down to open presents that morning, Harry passed everyone his gift to them first. He had gotten Nymmie and Iggy both training brooms, Sirius a bunch of prank items and a new pair of sneakers, he got Lily a high-end rune carving set, and he had given Andromeda a diamond necklace and a matching set of earrings.
Harry himself got a new gold pocket watch with the Black family Crest engraved on its face from Andromeda, a Wizard Wireless radio' from Nymmie and Iggy, Sirius had gotten him some cologne that was very strong and Lily had given him a book set on Defense Against the Dark Arts.
All in all, Christmas had been very nice. That evening, he and Andromeda had made an amazing dinner and everyone ate until they could barely walk away from the table.
Which made Harry waking Sirius up at five in the morning on Boxing Day to run through physical training a very cruel punishment indeed.
Harry couldn't help chuckling at the memory of their training earlier. Sirius had been very upset to be roused out of bed so early.
"Why so early, why couldn't we have waited until seven?" Sirius asked looking half asleep as they stepped out of the house and into the frigid December morning.
"This early training is for putting my sweet daughter up to jumping on our bed screaming for us to wake up yesterday morning. Did you know she woke us up at about this time, Sirius?" Harry said with a victorious smirk.
Harry was merciless while running his godfather through his morning exercise, he was just as ruthless during hand-to-hand training as well since Andromeda couldn't do hand-to-hand training any longer because of her pregnancy.
Sirius had looked overjoyed at this news until Harry started pushing him through sparring at a brutal pace. Sirius was now very aware Harry could hold a grudge when he wanted to.
The paper had more bad tidings, there were eight more attacks last night, this time on purebloods of the light side, minor houses mostly. It was while reading the paper that Harry remembered the gift he had planned to give James and his family. He had just finished creating it before taking his seat in front of the fireplace.
Harry had enchanted a special portkey that could shatter wand-cast transportation wards. The destination of the portkey was his old house in Durham so it would take whoever used it somewhere safe.
Harry would give this to James just in case the Potters were attacked, he would bet anything the Potters were on Voldemort's hit list, so better safe than sorry.
The fire turned green and pulled Harry from his thoughts seconds before James Potter stepped gracefully out of the fireplace.
"Hello, professor, a late Merry Christmas to you," James said cheerfully.
"We aren't at school James. Harry will work just fine, and I have a gift for your family. A late Merry Christmas to you as well," Harry told the teen while gesturing to a chair to his right.
"You got my family a gift, why?" James asked as he took the offered seat.
"I have been reading about the attacks in the paper for the last few days. There is a pattern to the attacks if you look closely enough. The first night I believe was nothing more than a test run, they hit muggle-born family homes and left their mark. Last night they went after their political opponents in the Wizengamot, the lesser houses. Your family and the Longbottoms are the most prominent light families there are, so there is a good chance that your family could be targeted next," Harry explained.
"So you got my parents a gift to help with that?" James asked, giving him a look of confusion.
Harry handed James a silver rod about eighteen inches long with two round blue jewels one on each end. It kind of resembled a muggle baton.
"This portkey will break through any wand cast wards put in place, it will take you to my old house in Durham," Harry explained.
"This is so cool how does it work?" James asked interestedly.
"Well, the jewels draw in ambient magic from around them over time. It takes about eight hours for them to power up. When the portkey is activated it sends a burst of raw magic out destroying any wand-cast wards that are in place. Just be prepared, it will be a rough ride. The activation phrase is, they are here," Harry told him.
"Thanks, Prof...I mean Harry," James corrected.
"Don't mention it. Now, let's go see if Sirius is done snogging Lily so you two can come fly with me and the kids," Harry said cheerfully.
"What! That double-crossing rat bastard!" James exclaimed. angrily.
"Like I would go near that pig!" said an indignant voice from the kitchen.
"That was just cruel, Sir," Janes grumbled, shooting Harry an annoyed look.
"Maybe, but the look on your face was priceless. You have my apologies my wife's sense of humor is rubbing off on me," Harry said not sounding apologetic at all.
"I would thank you not to drag me into your shenanigans husband," Andromeda told Harry as she came down the stairs.
"My apologies, Andromeda," Harry said smoothly.
"James, you'll have to Forgive my husband, he's been in a mood today. Poor Sirius had to suffer all morning in training because of it," Andi said in a very convincing imitation of disapproval.
Harry just snorted and shook his head in amusement. Andromeda was a very good actress when she wanted to be. She had personally told him to show Sirius no mercy and make the boy suffer for the wake-up call yesterday morning.
"It's okay Mrs. Black," James said easily.
"It's just Andi, dear," Andi said with a warm smile.
"Are the kids ready?" Harry asked
"They are. If either of my babies gets hurt on those flying death sticks, you will suffer Hadrian," Andromeda told Him plainly, her eyes narrowed in warning.
"They will be perfectly safe, Andromeda. I will watch them like a hawk," Harry hastily reassured her.
Harry didn't fear much but his wife's wrath was definitely top of the list. He decided to put an overpowered cushioning charm on the field just to be safe.
Sirius came down the stairs walking slowly seeing James his eyes lit up.
"Prongs how ya doing mate?" Sirius asked happily.
"Doing okay, Harry was just about to take the kids flying," James answered beaming at his best mate.
"Where are the little monsters, anyway?" Sirius asked before howling, "Ow!"
Nymmie had come down behind him and took offense to being called such a mean name and kicked him in the shin.
"Nymphadora Black we don't kick people, even when they deserve it!" Andromeda reproached her daughter half-heartedly.
"Yes mummy, I am sorry, Siri," Nymmie said, not the least bit convincingly.
Sirius scowled at both females but knew better than to complain out loud.
"Nymmie are you ready to go flying?"Harry asked trying not to laugh at how she had dealt with Sirius.
"Yes Daddy, I'll go get Iggy," she chirped excitedly before running back up the stairs.
Harry just smiled the world may be going to shit, but his family was doing just fine.
/C.o.t.R\
Potter Manor, Godrics Hollow, England, 12/29/1975, 02:00
The Potter family was awoken by the sounds of their perimeter wards crashing down. James leapt out of bed and ran to his parent's room, his wand in one hand and the portkey Harry had given him in the other. His parents met him in the hallway wands drawn.
"James we are under attack, you need to hide and let your father and I handle this," Euphemia Potter said as calmly as she could manage, though her eyes clearly showed how terrified she was.
"Mum my Professor gave me a Portkey, he said our family might be targeted," James said hurriedly.
"They've already cast wards over the house," Fleamont said frustratedly.
"Just please grab a hold, Hadrian said it would shatter cast wards," James begged his parents, offering them the silver baton.
James' parents looked at each other skeptically but quickly reached out and grabbed ahold of the silver instrument as they heard the explosion come from the main entrance hall, most likely the front door exploding open.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!'
"They are here," James said urgently, feeling relief flood through him as the portkey activated.
All three Potters felt a very forceful pull in their navel region as they were spun at a high velocity bursting through the death eaters. wards.
The portkey worked as Harry had said it would and tore through the death eater's transportation wards like tissue paper.
It was a nauseating trip and made James wonder if he was going to vomit before the portkey arrived at its destination.
'At least we made it out,' James thought optimistically as the portkey began to spin them even faster.
/C.o.t.R\
Bellatrix smiled happily as the blood traitors' wards fell and she gave the order to raise the anti-transportation wards.
Once she got the nod from her warder she gave the order.
"Take the house, kill them all!" Bellatrix screeched happily.
Bellatrix led her team over the wardline before they began crossing the snow-covered lawns. When they were fifty feet from the manor, Bella cast an overpowered exploding hex at the front door. Bella watched in excitement as the spell struck the door and exploded inward with a deafening blast.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!'
Less than a second later a much louder explosion was heard much to Bella's surprise.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!'
Bellatrix felt a wave of magical energy seconds before the warder was violently blasted backward. She could actually see the magical backlash as some unknown magic tore its way through the transportation wards.
"What happened?" Bellatrix demanded of the warder who was sprawled on the lawn and groaning pitifully.
"They somehow tore through my wards," the man croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.
She could tell that the warder was in need of medical attention, the Dark Lord would not be pleased by this.
She ordered her team to search the house and when they came back saying the house was empty she scowled.
"Burn the home we will move to the Longbottoms next," Bellatrix ordered before casting the mark and apparating away.
/C.o.t.R\
Evans Farm, County of Durham, England,12/29/1975, 02:15
The three Potters slammed into the lawn outside a small home in a very flat open part of the country.
"Where are we, James?" Fleamont asked, standing himself up and then assisting his wife to her feet.
James clambered to his feet before looking at the house they landed in front of.
"Durham, Professor Black said it would take us to his old home," James answered.
"Does he have the floo connected?" Euphemia asked curiously.
"I don't know, it probably is. Why mum?" James asked as he followed behind his parents.
"Because we need to warn Augusta. If they haven't been hit yet they will be soon," his mother answered before opening the door which was thankfully unlocked, and making a beeline for the fireplace.
James watched his mother take a pinch of floo powder from the pot on the mantle and throw it into the unlit fireplace. his mother sighed in relief as green flames instantly burst from the cold hearth,
James watched as she stuck her head into the flames and called, "Longbottom Hall!"
James began to look around the Blacks' sitting room while his mom talked through the floo and his father looked out of the window into the moonlit night.
James saw pictures hanging all over the room. There was one with Harry and the kids at the beach, another with the kids about two years old tearing into Christmas presents, and above the mantle was a large painting-sized wedding photo with Harry in nice dress robes and Andromeda in a very nice wedding dress. In the picture, Harry had his right arm around Andromeda's waist and little Nymmie is his left arm taking a nap from the look of it, they both smiled down at him from the photo.
James' inspection was broken by the floo flaring to life as four people came through from Longbottom Hall.
Augusta, Frank, and Reginald Longbottom as well as Alice Vaisey who was betrothed to Frank.
"Alright, Monty what the devil is going on?" asked the slightly balding Reginald Longbottom.
"Our house was attacked just moments ago. They tore down our wards and cast anti-transportation wards. James' teacher gave him a special portkey that tore through their transportation wards and brought us here. I have a feeling your family would be next," Fleamont explained tiredly collapsing onto one end of the couch.
Frank looked like a younger version of his father tall and broad-shouldered though he still had a full head of sandy blonde hair turned to James and asked.
"What teacher would give you a Portkey like that?"
Before James could answer Alice spoke up pointing to the wedding photo on the mantel.
"Professor Black."
"That young man who killed all the Acromantula this fall?" asked Augusta curiously.
"Yes, and he's an amazing teacher too. He helped me understand nonverbal casting," Alice gushed.
Before they could say anymore they heard the sound of apparition outside and every wand in the house was raised and ready.
/C.o.t.R\
Longbottom Hall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, 12/29/1975, 02:24
Bellatrix appeared in front of the main gates of Longbottom Hall and waited for her team to appear. She was hoping this attack would run much smoother than at the Potters.
Her team started apparating in one by one over the next few minutes. She was pleased to see that the warder looked to be feeling better after being given a dose of pepper-up potion.
"Bring it down!" Bellatrix ordered the warder as soon as she was sure everyone had arrived.
The wards took the whole team to overpower but she soon heard the telltale sound of the property wards failing.
"You know what to do, warder keep them from escaping!" Bellatrix commanded her team as she readied herself.
Once ant-transportation wards were up, Bellatrix gave her team the nod to begin the attack.
She watched as her team entered the house while she stayed with the warder. Ten minutes later her team exited reporting that they found the house completely empty.
According to Selwyn, there was no furniture, no paintings on the walls, no ancient tapestries, and most infuriating of all, no occupants inside Longbottom Hall.
"The Dark Lord is going to be furious!" Bellatrix screeched as she thought about the punishment failure like this warranted.
/C.o.t.R\
Black Residence, Northumberland, England, 12/29/1975, 02:26
Harry awoke to the wards at his other property alerting him of intruders. Groaning sleepy, Harry eased himself out of Andromeda's grip. He hurriedly threw on some clothes before writing a quick note to let Andromeda where he was in case she woke and discovered his absence.
Walking down the stairs and out the front door, Harry quickly crossed to the ward line and disapparated to his old home in Durham.
/C.o.t.R\
Evans Farm, County of Durham, England
Harry appeared on the lawn of his old home and noticed the lights were on inside. He could also make out quite a few shadows moving about in the sitting room.
Walking through the front door his wand held loosely in his hand, Harry was met with seven wands pointing at him.
"I guess they hit your home then?" Harry asked Looking at James.
"Yes Professor," James said sadly.
"How did you know they would hit our holmes?" A large balding blond man in his early fifties asked suspiciously.
"Who are you?" Harry asked, not recognizing the man.
"Lord Reginald Longbottom," the man answered in an almost insulted tone.
"Well Lord Longbottom, if you've been reading the papers you know the death eaters are attacking members of the light faction. They started with the muggle-borns, then over the last few days, they have been attacking the minor houses that have seats in the Wizengamot. It was only a matter of time before your houses were targeted," Harry explained as glanced around the room.
Another man also in his fifties with messy salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes, and a very gangly build offered Harry his hand.
Harry immediately recognized the man as his grandfather, having seen him once in the Mirror of Erised during his first year. Though admittedly, he hadn't recognized who the man was until this moment.
"Thank you for that portkey
You saved my family's life, Mr Black," his grandfather said, pulling Harry back to the present.
"Your son is best friends with the heir Black, I have a feeling our houses will have close ties when they both take up their Lordships, Lord Potter," Harry answered only half truthfully as he shook his grandfather's hand.
The main motivation for him was that he had already lost his grandparents on his mother's side before ever meeting them, and he did not plan on letting that happen again.
"Well, the house of Potter is in your debt. Please let me introduce my wife, Euphemia," Lord Potter said guiding the tiny woman who had been standing by his side forward.
She looked to be around the same age as Fleamont and had ebony hair with some streaks of gray. She stood about five foot four with ice-blue eyes and had a kind face.
His grandmother gave him a warm smile before she offered her hand to Harry. He gently took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles and bowed his head in pureblood fashion.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Potter," Harry said kindly.
"No debt is necessary, Lord Potter. I'm just glad that you all made it out safely," Harry said as he released his grandmother's hand
Fleamont nodded but before he could speak Augusta Longbottom cleared her throat.
"What was that Portkey you made for James? I've never heard of something like that before."
Harry smiled at Neville's Grandmother. She still looked to be in her late forties, her hair was brown where in his time it was solid gray, though she still looked just as fierce as Harry remembered.
"The Portkey had two gemstones that draw in ambient magic. When it encounters cast wards, the portkey will blast a hole through the wards, and whoever cast them would get a hell of a headache, Lady Longbottom," Harry answered.
"Just Augusta will do dear," She said looking impressed.
Before anymore was said the floo roared to life and an annoyed Andromeda stepped out wand at the ready.
"There you are! Why didn't you send word that you were okay?" Andromeda demanded as she zeroed in on her husband.
"I'm sorry Andi, they needed explanations," Harry said as he came over and took her hand in his.
"Has anyone contacted the Aurors?" she asked as she took his hand.
"No not yet," said, giving her a sheepish smile.
"Reg and I will head to the Ministry, Euphemia take everyone else to the Cottage until we get this sorted out," Fleamont told the room at large and got a nod of agreement from Lord Longbottom.
"You can stay here if you need to," Harry offered.
"Thank you for the offer but Potter cottage will have enough room for everyone, Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Black," Fleamont waved him off.
Everyone started saying their goodbyes and leaving through the floo one by one until it was only Reginald and Fleamont that remained. Fleamont shook Harry's hand and bowed to Andi's before heading through the floo.
Reginald turned to Harry and offered his hand before speaking in an official tone.
"House Longbottom owes you a great debt, thank you, Mr. Black," Reginald said before shaking Harry's hand and then vanishing in green flames.
"Well, let's get back home and get to bed Harry," Andromeda stated with a yawn.
Harry nodded and followed his wife through the floo.
/C.o.t.R\
Nott Manor, Nottingham, U.K, 12/29/1975, 06:00
Voldemort held the leader of the McKinnon attack team under the curse, letting Amycus feel his displeasure.
Not one team had been successful tonight!
The Potter and Longbottom families who were hit first had warned most of their allies in time for them to flee.
The other families that were targeted had left their properties by the time his death eaters arrived, leaving empty homes with all furniture and valuables gone.
The Prewitts, Ogdens, McMillans, Boots, Weasleys, and Browns all had left before they could be attacked.
The McKinnons were in the process of leaving when his men arrived, they had somehow managed to send a distress call.
Most of his death eaters were killed or captured by the ministry Aurors, who had arrived before the property wards had even fallen!
Voldemort released the spell on the pudgy man sobbing man and glared down at him.
"Cease all movements for the time being, we either let our movements become too predictable or we have a spy amongst us," Voldemort stated to his gathered minions.
"Now leave me, I must ponder our next course of action," Voldemort commanded and watched the gathered crowd of masked sycophants hurry to carry out his order.
When he was alone in the room he sighed to himself.
This year had not gone as he had planned it to. So many failures and that didn't even factor in his personal losses (All five of them!).
Young Markus had brought the worst of news. As he had feared, his Horcrux in the school had also been found. So he was down to one anchor and couldn't create another for at least a decade!
Voldemort had learned that the Reaper had been hunting his horcruxes, which meant that the hooded man was set on killing him. The Dark Lord felt a tinge of fear and whispered to the empty room.
"I must kill this man before he kills me."